The question on everyone’s lips about Sherlock Season 3 will finally be answered when Sherlock returns with three all-new action-packed stories.

How did he do it? And how will John take the news that his best friend faked his own death? What will Sherlock think when he finds out John has fallen in love with Mary Morstan? She’s sensible, quick-witted and not at all taken in by Sherlock’s posturing.

Once again, the game is on for Sherlock and John in the first episode of the new series, The Empty Hearse, written by Mark Gatiss on January 2014 in both the UK and US.

Sherlock Season 3 – Official Masterpiece Announcement

A date has been set for the return of one of television’s most eagerly anticipated shows: Sherlock Season 3 will premiere on Masterpiece on PBS on Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 10pm, following the 9pm broadcast of Downton Abbey.

Benedict Cumberbatch (The Fifth Estate, Star Trek Into Darkness) and Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Office UK) return as Sherlock Holmes and John Watson in three new 90-minute episodes of the contemporary reinvention of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle classic, created by Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) and Mark Gatiss.

“The genius Sherlock team has done it again,” says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. “These new episodes are as wildly-imaginative and brilliantly-produced as all the others. These people are GOOD!”

Nearly 11 million viewers tuned into the second season of Sherlock, which ended with one of the most shocking cliffhangers in television history. Fans flocked to the internet to speculate about Sherlock’s “demise,” and express their eagerness to find out what happens next.

“We love that Sherlock fans are so passionate and eager to see Season 3,” says PBS Chief Programming Executive and General Manager of General Audience Programming Beth Hoppe. “The pairing of Downton Abbey and Sherlock in January offers a blockbuster night of British drama only on PBS stations.”

“We are hugely excited about this next series of Sherlock, and have worked closely with our partners, Masterpiece and PBS, to bring these episodes to U.S. audiences in January,” says Sue Vertue, executive producer for Sherlock and Hartswood Films, which coproduces Sherlock with Masterpiece and BBC Wales for BBC One. “We promise our fans that Season 3 is worth waiting for.”

Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated and winner of a Peabody Award, Sherlock has been a television sensation since the first season aired in 2010, with critics calling it “triumphant” (Hollywood Reporter), “crackling with imagination” (San Francisco Chronicle), and “seduction through deduction” (Los Angeles Times).

Sherlock helped make megastars of Cumberbatch and Freeman, whose portrayals of the famous crime fighting duo USA Today described as “two of the best performances you’ll see anywhere.”

As in previous seasons, titles for the three episodes are pegged to a classic Sherlock Holmes title by Arthur Conan Doyle—delightfully, wittily, and briskly updated, of course.

Sherlock Season 3 is a Hartswood Films and BBC Wales production for BBC One, in coproduction with Masterpiece.

It was created by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and inspired by the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The executive producers are Beryl Vertue, Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat, Sue Vertue and Rebecca Eaton for Masterpiece.

Masterpiece is presented on PBS by WGBH Boston. Funding for the series is provided by Viking River Cruises and Ralph Lauren Corporation with additional support from public television viewers and contributors to The Masterpiece Trust, created to help ensure the series’ future.